Golf Tips - Make Time to Work on Your Swing

No, these tips aren't for people interested in meeting each other for a date. The only date I want you to have is with your clubs at the practice range in order to build your swing correctly.

I see many people trying to swing the club on line, straight back, straight through. This is impossible to do. There has also been a lot of discussion about upright, medium and flat plane swings. I think a better way to describe it would be swings that are too steep or too shallow.

To develop the best plane swing is to learn and coordinate your muscles to synchronize your natural body motions. These motions, which I will break down in depth in an upcoming series, are not difficult; in fact, they are very easy to understand.

There is only one reason these motions are difficult to execute: it's the golf ball. All golfers will make a better swing without a ball in front of them. Why? Because without a ball, there is nothing to hit, so we concentrate on the swing. The ball hypnotizes us into hitting it, and that's the big problem: we should concentrate on swinging, not hitting. The ball will get in the way.

Hitting action deteriorates the motion. The dominating left side will not allow for a hitting action; only a pulling action. The throwing action comes from the right side.

There are two ways you can move an object, either pulling or pushing (throwing). Theo only position that one can pull is in front of the object being pulled. If you are behind it, you would have to be pushing (throwing) it. The legs, pulling as the shoulders remain passive, builds up the centrifugal force that creates the speed (distance) and accuracy.

Golf is difficult for one main reason: focusing on the ball causes you to want to hit it. To prove this statement, I have taught numerous people around the country who were blind. After I taught them some simple basics, I placed a ball down and they made good contact on a regular basis - mainly because they saw no ball! They were not hypnotized into hitting, and their action was instead a swinging motion.

Keeping your eye on the ball is okay if it doesn't register a hitting action. The key is keeping your head steady as opposed to keeping your eye on the ball, which is a myth. The eyes don't move the head, the shoulders move the head, regardless of where the eyes are.

Balance is so important to a swinging motion. Using the head as the center of balance, eye position is a must. For proper eye position, keep the face vertical until after impact, letting the eyes follow the ball by rotating the head to the left and looking under and up at the ball with the eyes in a more vertical position. Following the ball horizontally raises the head. If the head moves from the center of balance, it causes loss of motion, which leads to poor shot making.

To get the most out of your game this year, start swinging to your target instead of trying to hit or steer it on the correct path. When you're playing well, remember this: "Relax and swing - don't worry about a thing."